Ankara

Last weekend CIEE took us to Ankara. Until then, most people had been telling us that it really wasn't all that interesting, etc. etc. But it was really nice, actually, even if not as bustling and dynamic as Istanbul. Partly because of its less-than-ideal rep, not everyone came. I'm really glad I did, though. We took night train to get there. I know my account of the night bus expressed my dislike of it, but for me night trains are a totally different story. As long as I can lie down I don't care much about movement or anything. It was pretty fun anyway. I hung out with Linda and Tyler for a while which was really chill and nice. Then I passed by another compartment with Susannah, Becca, Emily, Raven, Jon K, and a couple bottles of wine. I hung out with them for a bit, very different atmosphere than with Linda and Tyler. I slept fine, if not enough.

After breakfast we went to the parliament, the Grand National Assembly. It was interesting. They told us about all the significances of the architecture and design. For example, the place where the public sits is the highest seating place, indicating the importance of the people. After this we went to a lecture on Turkish politics at a language school. The woman giving the lecture was really nice and cool but something about the lighting and the time of day and the lack of sleep made it really hard to pay attention. Several people dozed off and one even started snoring. One thing that I took away was what she was saying about the women's movement in Turkey and how there are many different factions that are often in opposition in terms of specifics, for example, the controversial headscarf issue.

After lunch we toured the Middle Eastern Technical University, where CIEE used to be based. Some of our group wished CIEE were still based there. It was a really nice day and the campus looked really nice. Plus, the people seemed a lot friendlier than Koc students. The thing about Koc is that its basically the most expensive university in Turkey. So there's a very elite culture there. People are very concerned about brand names, etc. Someone said they saw a maserati on campus lol. METU seemed at superficial glance to have less of this attitude. While on campus we went to another lecture by a big important Turkish sociologist on identity issues. His thesis was that the big dichotomy in Turkey isn't so much between "black" Turks (majority, lower-middle class, more religious) and "white" Turks (rich minority, more secular) but rather between Sunni and Alevi Muslims. Actually, he said that there was no strict dichotomy of any kind and then focused on a religious one. Anyway, I could pay attention for more of this one and it was quite interesting, especially the reactions of the Turks in our group. He was clearly very nationalist/Kemalist/secularist and some of our members and program leaders were frustrated by his bias.

That night we went out. Ultimately we ended up at a club/bar that was actually playing Turkish pop songs instead of American top 40. It was fun to go out clubbing and know that I wasn't in the US.

The next day started off with a trip to Anit Kabir: Ataturk's mausoleum. Oh. My. God. Before going I had imagined that it would be comparable to Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow, which I have seen. Not comparable. It's the difference between someone's personal shrine in the corner of their dorm room and the Vatican. The Turks make it look like Lenin was disrespected by his people. This is as monumentally huge as it is hugely monumental. Combine the Pyramids with the Parthenon, put the result in Central Park, and voila. The property is vast. You start out at these immense statues of people and then walk down a long path, and then you find yourself in a wide courtyard that looks like that of European royal palaces, except made with big yellow stones. To your left is is the Egyptian-Parthenon behemoth. Inside this building is Ataturk's tomb, surrounded by marble and gold mosaics. And there are flowers that are changed to the tune of taps every so often. Next to this is a museum with a lot Ataturk's possessions as well as information about the revolution.

Inside the mausoleum:

Outside the mausoleum:

The best part about it? In line for the museum there were a bunch of school kids who started talking with us. There was a middle school group and a high school group. That was really fun. Here are some of the girls:

After this impressive experience we went to the Ankara Citadel and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The museum was really interesting, had all these great artifacts from the Hittites and Romans and I don't even know who else. I really like these pots:

Here's the view of Ankara from the top of the citadel:

There's a small town inside the citadel. It seemed really poor, basically all the locals we saw were begging or selling handicrafts. I don't know what the situation is. We had a really delicious lunch here, including manta which is like ravioli with a yogurt sauce.

Then we went to a town an hour or so outside Ankara called Beypazarı. It was so nice. I really love little towns like this. I love local handicrafts too. I bought some earrings in a typical Turkish style that I love. Also, this town is famous for carrots. It produces 60% of all Turkey's carrots. I had carrot juice and brought home carrot Turkish Delight. Didn't make it to the carrot ice cream, but my friends told me it was good. It's also famous for its Ottoman architecture.

In Beypazarı we went to the "Living Museum". The goal of this museum is to educate the public about Turkish cultural traditions, etc. There was a man who made shadow puppets. We also got to do ebru, the paper marbling we had seen in Edirne. Then, we all took part in a special ritual. You sit next to a table while a woman melts lead over a fire. Then she puts a sheet over your head and pours the molten lead in a bowl of water over your head. Then she takes the sheet off and evaluates how much "evil eye" is focused on you based on the shapes in which the now-solid lead turned out. Evil eye can be any kind of bad thoughts of others directed towards you, including jealousy. She also told some of us things like, "You don't have any evil eye, but you are sad" or "You have a little bit of evil eye, and you have five or six problems". Some of the things she said were weirdly accurate. Some of the things sounded like she'd had too much contact with the lead. After you hear about your evil eye, you eat a pinch of salt for the saltiness (? we would probably say bitterness) of life, a pinch of rice for the richness of life, and a pinch of sugar for the sweetness of life. Then she gives you a piece of your lead for you to carry around or keep in your room. Apparently I don't have any evil eye, and my piece of lead was impossible to break into bits so I got a huge chunk.

After this we went upstairs and the same woman who read our lead told us stories. It was such a nice atmosphere:

Then we went to dinner. There was some delicious rice and meat. And then, because there is a special regional sweet, because it was Becca's birthday, and because it's impossible to refuse baklava, we had three desserts. Omg. Even I couldn't manage. The special regional dessert was really yummy, like crushed nuts in honey sauce or something. I love Turkish dessert philosophy.

From there we hopped on the train back to Istanbul. This time, Ivy, Caitlin, Linda, Kathryn and I hung out and had a really solid girl talk.

Since then I've had a couple exams, nothing too terrible. My Islamic Cities midterm was a bit difficult, but I think it will be alright. Also, I've decided to stay all year!!!!!!!!!! I'm really excited about it. Once I heard that there would be homestays next semester I really felt like it would be worth it to stay. I'm so glad Oxy let me. I had a really strong feeling about it... and then once there was no turning back I started to have doubts. Of course. I was actually expecting too, and I've stopped feeling ambiguous. It's amazing how much this has changed my relationship to what I do now. It's wonderful not to feel the time pressure and I'm really excited about all the experiences I'll get to have. At the same time, it's mind-boggling to think that I won't see home for a whole year. I know it's going to be super weird coming back. I'm hoping that over the summer I can do an internship and/or take a class in Spain to get better at Spanish. We'll see.

Needless to say, knowing that it will be a loooong time til I come home I miss it like CRAZY. Much love to everyone.